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NICA's next league is in Trek's home state

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (BRAIN) — The National Interscholastic Cycling Association has chosen its next state for expansion of its high school mountain bike race program: Wisconsin. And Trek Bicycle will be a major sponsor of the league in the company's home state.

The official announcement of NICA's new league will be Friday evening at QBP's Frostbike.

"This is our 11th league and it is a very significant step forward for the NICA community in several ways," said NICA executive director Austin McInerney. "First of all, thanks to Trek Bicycle, one of our largest and most long-standing sponsors, for the special contribution that kickstarted this league."

Brandon Buth of Trek Bicycle said, "At Trek, we're elated to bring dedicated middle and high-school mountain bike racing to Wisconsin. We've worked for a long time to make this happen, and we're thrilled to help NICA realize their vision of coast-to-coast mountain biking by 2020."

McInerny said the new league is in partnership with the long-running Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS). He said there is also potential for the new league to cooperate with the established league in neighboring Minnesota. "Wisconsin and Minnesota between them will soon become a major force with far-reaching influence," he said.

In the fall of 2013 WORS ran a state high school championship outside the NICA umbrella. This fall it will run a four-race series as the NICA Wisconsin High School Cycling League.

Up to 200 student athletes are expected to participate from 15 - 20 teams situated across the state, including teams from La Crosse, Eau Claire, Hayward, Wausau, Appleton, Kenosha, and Jefferson.